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Celebrating all things Hamilton / Welcome Message
Arts + Culture

Readers and writers: Your guide to gritLIT 2026

The literary festival offers five days of readings, panels, workshops, and social events that celebrate writers of all kinds and the readers who read them. For 22 years, the Hamilton-born gritLIT has celebrated established writers, helped new ones develop, and given readers a front-row seat to well over…
Arts + Culture

World premiere shines a light on Canada, The Hip, and what home really means

It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken, opening April 22 at Theatre Aquarius, is about connection, love, and saying something that needs to be said. That spirit, and the spirit of Gord Downie, are in the rehearsal room as this show comes to life, say its stars.
Arts + Culture

REVIEW: Calendar Girls is balm for weary souls

Story of group of English women posing nude to raise money for their church is a nuanced exploration of aging, expectation, disappointment, and refusing to accept limitations. Binbrook Little Theatre’s production features brave performances and a solid focus on the story. Uplifting stories seem hard to find these…
Arts + Culture

New music venues: This booker is back

Brodie Schwendiman, operator of the late and beloved Casbah, is back booking music in a new downtown venue called Ridiculous, and other live-music locations in the region. 2025 was a rollercoaster ride of a year for Brodie Schwendiman. The music club operator and booker has played a crucial…
Food + Drink

Chef Matty Matheson: By the books

The celebrity chef has now made his mark in Hamilton, with elevated pub Iron Cow Public House at TD Coliseum. So what can we glean about him from the recipes and stories in his three cookbooks?  For months, his name was on the lips of Hamilton food…
Arts + Culture

THE PLAYLIST

Dylan Hudecki is a Canadian indie-rock vet having played in many different bands, including By Divine Right, Cowlick, Slow Beach and The Dill. He’s a proud Hamiltonian who covers local album releases for HAMILTON CITY Magazine. TV FREAKS  – Blue Genie (garage, punk rock) Devotion, distortion, and the…
Food + Drink

Getting out: Music & menus

If live tunes help your food taste better, here’s a list of places where the grub is as good as the setlist! With this issue being HAMILTON CITY Magazine’s music issue, it seemed fitting to round-up a bundle of local restaurants where you can see and enjoy some…
City Life

Hounds of Hamilton

We need a big dose of dogs these days so HAMILTON CITY Magazine's new feature celebrates the city's canines. Send in your dogs (and cats)! Escape the relentless news cycle, doom scrolling and polarizing politics, and find joy and laughter in pets. Hounds of Hamilton…

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HAMILTON CITY Magazine’s mission is to tell the stories that celebrate the city’s past, present and future by featuring stunning photography, illustrations and world-class writing. It’s your city. It’s your magazine.


City Life

FOR THE LOVE OF HAMILTON

This regular feature highlights people from all walks of life who have embraced Hamilton as their new home. LOHIFA POGOSON ACKER is a consultant, business owner, hair artist, and speaker dedicated to community empowerment. Born in Lagos, Nigeria and raised on three continents, she is known for her…
Food + Drink

A bevy of food on Barton

Hamilton’s longest street has a deep and rich history and is enjoying a resurgence as a diverse dining district. Is Barton Street part of the tapestry of your life? Was it ever? I was married on Barton, shopped on Barton, family members worked (and ate lunch) on Barton,…
City Life

CITY VIEW: A life in hiding no more

Lisa Stroud knew from a young age that though born a boy, she was truly a girl. She lived a double life while working in a male-dominated factory and raising a son. But she's now fully embraced her true self. LISA STROUD was born in west Hamilton…
Made in Hamilton

The tariff war means a new normal for Hamilton businesses

The wrecking ball that Donald Trump has taken to international trade has wounded relations between Hamilton businesses and their American suppliers and customers. Now they’re looking east and west to replace traditional links to the south. Editor's note: This story was finalized in late April. We acknowledge that…
Made in Hamilton

Hammer City Roller Derby: Rebels on wheels

Hamilton's league is a pioneer in the sport’s resurgence in North America over the last 20 years and continues to provide a community for many seeking one in the city. Those who pull on roller skates and take to the oval flat track describe roller derby as playing…
Made in Hamilton

Hamilton teen to play in his second roller derby world cup

River Evans will be lacing up roller skates while wearing a Team Canada jersey this summer. The 16-year-old Hamilton resident will represent his country in Brisbane, Australia at the Junior Roller Derby World Cup in late July.  River was a member of the last Team Canada, too, when the World…
Arts + Culture

True North Strong: TVO lines up three Hamilton-Burlington musicians for panel talk

Cadence Weapon, Sarah Harmer and Tom Wilson joined host and Hamilton native Steve Paikin for discussion of music in turbulent times and their Canadian inspirations. A trio of prestigious Hamilton and Burlington musicians weighed in about why music matters in times of upheaval during a taping by TVO…
City Life

Matty Matheson opening a restaurant in Hamilton Arena

Our city featured prominently in the Departure music and art festival in Toronto, with the Canadian celebrity chef announced as a food partner in the transformed downtown arena, and panel discussing Hamilton as key to next global music hub. Celebrity chef Matty Matheson is a big fan…